Arun Govil, who played Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s TV serial Ramayan, had been commissioned in April to produce theVasudha Venugopal | ET Bureau | September 29, 2016, 14:24 IST

Image credit: ThinkstockA Sangh Parivar icon, an actor who played Ram in a famous television serial, a former close adviser of ex-prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Doordarshan (DD) — mix all of them together and you get a brewing controversy. In this case, infighting in Prasar Bharati, the autonomous body that oversees both DD and All India Radio.

Arun Govil, who played Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s TV serial Ramayan, had been commissioned in April this year to produce a biopic of Deendayal Upadhyaya, a major figure for Sangh Parivar. Thirty-five episodes have been shot, covering Upadhyaya’s life from 1916 to 1969.

But DD’s new slot sale policy that came into force in May switched the selection mode to auctions. And it asked producers under the self-financing commissioning (SFC) scheme — producers who finance their serials and sell them to Doordarshan — to reduce the number of episodes and cut costs.

Govil has been asked to cut the number of episodes from 104 to 42, and reduce the price by more than 30%. Govil told ET that these conditions are unacceptable and that he had walked out of the arrangement.

He was therefore not invited to renegotiate with DD when the broadcaster reviewed its slot sale policy. Eighteen other SFS producers have renegotiated. The Upadhyaya biopic going into cold storage has led senior Prasar Bharati board member Ashok Tandon, who was Vajpayee’s media advisor, to raise objections.

Tandon told ET: “A serial on a great visionary and ideologue has suffered because of hurried decisions of some people at the helm.”

“I have raised the issue. The story of a man that needs to be told to every Indian has been unceremoniously buried. It is the centenary year of Deendayal and sadly, this is the tribute Prasar Bharati has given him,” Tandon said.

He also said he will raise the issue in the next board meeting. BJP and RSS have organised several events celebrating Upadhyaya’s life and work.

In a Tuesday meeting of Prasar Bharati’s business development committee, some members asked DD to reconsider the decision on the biopic. Apart from Tandon, bhajan singer and BJP member Anup Jalota also argued for reinstating the biopic in DD’s programming.

Senior officials who did not want to be quoted said these concerns have been communicated to Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu and his junior minister Rajyavardhan Rathore.

Govil, people familiar with the issue said, had been asked by BJP General Secretary Ram Lal to produce Upadhyaya’s biopic. ET couldn’t confirm this independently with Lal as he did not respond to ET’s attempts to reach him.

Govil told ET he found it “astonishing” that “after a written approval, they asked me to reduce the number of episodes and take over 30% reduction in price”.

Prasar Bharati officials who did not want to be quoted told ET the biopic serial was reviewed and it was determined that it would “make losses for DD”.

“Govil already has made two serials with DD that have made losses for the broadcaster,” a Prasar Bharati official said. He said DD’s total losses on prime time serials were Rs 125 crore. Govil, however, disputed these claims and said all serials under SFC were generating profits.